Twitter owner Elon Musk sells Tesla stock worth $3.95 billion – National

Twitter’s new owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sold $4 billion worth of Tesla stock, according to regulatory filings.

Musk, which bought Twitter for $44 billion, sold 19.5 million shares in the electric vehicle company between Nov. 4 and Nov. 8, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

He sold his US$7 billion Tesla stake in August and was working to raise the money to buy Twitter, which he was trying to escape at the time. In total, Musk has sold $19 billion worth of Tesla stock since April, including the one filed Tuesday, to fund his stake in the Twitter acquisition. likely to provide.

Most of Musk’s assets are related to Tesla Inc. stock. According to Forbes, his personal net worth fell below his $200 billion on Tuesday, but he remains the richest person in the world.

Musk has set up banks, including Morgan Stanley, to help finance the Twitter deal. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimated his initial take was about $15.5 billion. But if stock investors drop out, Musk will either replace them or put in more of his own money.

Tesla shares fell $5.78, or 2.9%, to close at $191.30. The stock has fallen 52% so far this year. In contrast, the S&P 500 Index has lost about 20% of its value so far this year.